Page 95 of The Duke Who Loved a Widow
She had travelled to York to find him and given him an ultimatum. He must stop trying to get custody of Henry. It had been a fine plan, but the letters arriving at Farrington Hall suggested that now Lady Arabella Farrington was engaged to the Duke of Montbury, the case had no hopes of success.
She had looked at him with disdainful pity. “You cannot prevail. The chance to take the child with the court’s blessing has passed. I agree with your sending that false letter to try to get Henry to Farrington Hall a little earlier. However, all this scheming is out of hand.”
“All exaggerated, my dear. Lies put about by Montbury’s lawyer.” He smiled at her, knowing she could never resist him.
This time, she could, and he was quite wrong.
“Mr Yarborough tells me he will have nothing more to do with you. You have supplied false information to the court, and charges will likely follow. It is serious, Christopher.”
She looked at him as if she didn’t recognize him. “Leave with me now. We can go to live with Mama and work to sort out this legal mess. Hopefully, the court might fine you rather than send you to gaol.”
He’d laughed in her face, and she had gathered the dignity she had left and walked away. She’d taken the next stagecoach and gone further north to her family estate.
His Violet had left him.
When an express arrived with information about the Duke of Montbury’s estate in Burgundy, he knew what he must do next.
He had enough funds to travel to the continent. He couldn’t stay in England, so a journey to France seemed an excellent plan.
Chapter 29
Arabella’s head spun with a tumult of different emotions. What had kept her going was the excited faces of two little boys off on an adventure with Robert and the late addition of his brother Simon, who had insisted on accompanying them. She’d been there when Simon had come to speak to his brother and retreated into the shadows, not wanting to stand in any way between the brothers.
“You and Judd can’t watch the ladies and children all the time, and I’d rather you didn’t give Mama a pistol. I’ll ride behind you all the way if you won’t let me join you.”
“Oh, very well,” agreed Robert, clapping his brother on the back. Arabella knew Robert would be glad of the support.
And here they were, their first morning in a place she thought might be the most beautiful, tranquil place she had ever been.
Montbury, with the moors, high hills, and sweeping valleys was an eerily beautiful landscape. She loved the gentle fields and hedgerows of Farrington Hall estate, but the Chateau du Clos de Vauvet was something else entirely.
They had arrived late at night, as Robert had chosen to press on to reach the chateau rather than stay overnight at another posting inn. They had not travelled quickly, and the journey had taken them more than a week, but it was worth it.
The dowager, Robert, and Elinor had greeted the house staff in fluent French. Elinor had told her later that her grandmother had been French, and this had been near to one of her properties in France. Robert bought it after the defeat of Napoleon the year before.
Monsieur and Madame Crevant, the butler and housekeeper, had made them comfortable immediately. Hot copper baths were filled with water and a hot supper awaited them in the dining room.
Elinor and Arabella decided to abandon convention and asked Judd and Tabitha to dine with them. When they had asked Henry and Freddy if they would like to eat with the grown-ups, their excitement had been off the scale.
“Really?” said Henry
“We can dine with the grown-ups?” added Freddy.
“I see no reason why not.” Elinor laughed.
“You have both behaved like grown-ups on the journey, so for a treat, you can eat with us in the dining room,” added Arabella.
She had woken to cool linen sheets and a pot of tea with lemon in fine Limoges china to take as she prepared for the day. She gasped as she noticed the delicately wrought iron balcony with the French doors leading outside.
With no clouds in the sky and the sun already shining overhead, she needed to remember to tell Henry about the importance of staying in the shade and avoiding sunstroke. The forest close to the chateau looked cool, and she knew the boys would spend much of their time exploring there.
She relaxed in the warm early morning sunshine, looking out at the view of the hills in the distance. Closer to the chateau, she saw the vineyard and the beautiful walled garden, so full of fragrant herbs that she could smell them from her balcony.
Robert had told her there was a lake here, too, hidden in the woods, with a river running through the valley floor into it. He’d been told there was a waterfall, too, and he planned to take the boys on an adventure to try and find it.
He’d been so excited to show them the house he had brought into the family, and his mother had a tear in her eye as she remembered the stories her mother had told her aboutthe area. How dreadful to be exiled forever from somewhere so beautiful.
She saw Simon walking in the garden and waved, drawing her robe around her. It was too lovely a day to stay in her room, and she dressed in a plain dress and wound her hair into a chignon at the nape of her neck.
